


Pearls

by junhuistan999



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pirates, Platonic Relationships, but!! he loses it, he's also a pirate captain, jeonghan is a merman, jisoo has one, seungcheol might seem cold & calculating but that's just a facade, who happens to want pearls
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-02
Updated: 2018-02-02
Packaged: 2019-03-12 19:45:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13554300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/junhuistan999/pseuds/junhuistan999
Summary: The story begins with a heart too beautiful, a heart too cruel and a heart too heavy. It begins with a underwater treasure more valuable than any kings’ and queens’ lives together, with a man whose hair is made of salt and crashing riptides, with a soul so pure that even the Moon herself pales in comparison and lets her silvery hair drop onto the water to gently blow a whisper-light breeze on the Earth lulling the man asleep, sweet dreams filled with promises of better tomorrows.The story begins with an ancient promise to the stars and a secret.





	Pearls

The story begins with a heart too beautiful, a heart too cruel and a heart too heavy. It begins with a underwater treasure more valuable than any kings’ and queens’ lives together, with a man whose hair is made of salt and crashing riptides, with a soul so pure that even the Moon herself pales in comparison and lets her silvery hair drop onto the water to gently blow a whisper-light breeze on the Earth lulling the man asleep, sweet dreams filled with promises of better tomorrows.

The story begins with an ancient promise to the stars and a secret.

 

***

 

“Cheol! Fuck- Put me down! Cheol!”

Seungcheol snickers. It’s not rare to see Soonyoung play with the kids and even more usual it is to see the younger ones winning him in playfights they like to have on a daily basis. Why, Seungcheol doesn’t know - not that he minds.

“Yah! Hansol!”  
The said boy turns. He grins, being the little bitch he is. “Aye, captain. What is it now?”  
“Respect, punk. But”, Seungcheol winks, “punish him like he should be punished.”  
Soonyoung lifts his head up so fast his neck cracks. “What?” he gawks. “N-no, what- Son of a bitch, let me down! Cheol!”

Seungcheol laughs out loud this time, turning his back to the crew. They can do their chores later anyway.

The Sun is bright this morning. It’s as if the sea is covered by shimmering gold pearls that he so badly wants to have - it’s one of his main goals as a captain. After all, he’s only 22 and he still has lots of time to sail the world with his more than amazing crew and find those goddamn pearls his father died on his travels trying to find them. There is one problem though - the legend tells that the pearls belong to the last and purest of merpeople, the ones rumoured to have hair made from the Moon goddess’ silvery tears and scales from her gown’s left over silk. The fact that there might be just a two or three merpeople somewhere in the world’s enormous oceans makes finding them even harder. Not that Seungcheol is giving up, not at all.

Because this time Seungcheol’s sure he’s close to them. The occasions of him seeing something bigger - and a lot more silvery - sliding underwater just next to his ship are becoming more and more usual. Countless times he’s heard a soft, smooth voice whispering in a different language to him when he’s asleep, running to the deck only to find his crew’s latest addition Jisoo nodding off to silent waves gently rocking the ship. And once, when Seungcheol and Jihoon both saw a fish-like creature slip down into the water close to an island they had stayed their night, he knew.

This sea is the answer.

This time, he’s getting the answer to countless sleepless nights and fights he had with his father and to the way five years old Hansol cried in the streets in hopes of getting a small piece of bread. This time, Seungcheol will succeed. This time, he’ll find the pearls.  
At this point it’s not just a small, irrelevant itch to do something, no - it is an addiction as Soonyoung had once kindly pointed out.

The Sun hides behind a cloud. “Why though…”

Easy. Every time you touch one of the pearls, it gives you the ability to speak (to rule them, Seungcheol thinks) in the language of merpeople and some of the fish. It gives you a chance to own them, to own something so valuable that you would be the richest person ever lived.

And somehow, that doesn’t sound that hard to achieve in Seungcheol’s ears.

 

***

Jisoo is alone.

The Sun’s just opened its eyes, shining rays making their ways to the ship, colouring the wood peachy all over. Jisoo doesn’t mind. It reminds him of adventures of the past, of people like him, of home, of crashing waves. Most of all it reminds him of Jeonghan.

Sighing, he hops of the edge.

Missing Jeonghan always leads to missing pretty much everything. His family, his homeland. Jisoo’s an outlander, even here. It can be heard in his speech, a light lisp sometimes making his words too sharp and sometimes too round. He’s not the only one though - Minghao, Junhui and Hansol are from foreign nations too.

Speaking of them makes him smile. Minghao, sweet but fierce Minghao is the cleaner of their ship. He’s got no tongue but makes his opinions clear as the upcoming day, always ready to slap Junhui and scoff at Hansol for saying something inappropriate. On the other side he’s easily one of the most kindest people Jisoo has ever met. His small giggles and those adorable eye smiles (usually given for Junhui) make him feel like he's an irreplaceable part of the crew, someone who's like a family member.

Speaking of Junhui, Jisoo still doesn’t know that much about the boy. Junhui makes him nervous. He is goofy and dorky and has an awkward aura but something about him sends warning alarms in Jisoo’s head ringing. Maybe it’s the piercing eyes or the words whispered to Minghao in the darkness that sound like a snake speaking to another. Maybe it’s just Jisoo.

It’s weird. Junhui and Minghao, they’re weird.

Someone enters the deck.

“Morning, hyungie!” Soonyoungie, Hoshi. Star is how he calls himself and the name fits him like no other.  
“Hi!” Jisoo smiles. Soonyoung’s a boatswain, always up before no one else. “Slept good, huh?”  
Soonyoung hums. “I did, unlike you, I suppose. Dreamt of Mingyu hitting Wonwoo with a pan that was full of toes. Like, green toes. And pink toes, they had dots on them. Gross stuff. Wonwoo ate them though.”

Jisoo blinks.

Soonyoung narrows his eyes. “But hyung, shouldn’t you be sleeping? Only me and Jihoon should be up.”  
“Nah, didn’t feel like it. The Sun’s too bright.”  
Soonyoung doesn’t believe him for a second. “Well, what did you even do up there, it’s not like you get that much rest anyways? It was dark, like, twenty minutes ago.”

Soonyoung has a point. Jisoo likes staying up late, sometimes not sleeping enough and ending up looking like a walking corpse. But full moon nights - they are different to him. Soonyoung doesn’t need to know that.

“Huh. So you really want the truth.”  
Soonyoung rolls his eyes. “Well what do you think.”  
“Okay then”, Jisoo grins, sighing before answering. “Soonyoungie, hyung just needed his own time. Manly needs, you know?”  
“H-huh? That’s it?” And then the words register in and the worried little brother turns into a blushing virgin. “W-wha- I- Oh my god, Jisoo, I didn’t need to know that! Gosh, get your old man perversions away from me. I absolutely cannot look at that figurehead at the same way. Ever again.”

Jisoo laughs, genuinely this time. Soonyoung looks so baffled, his face looking like a beetroot eating something sour for the first time. With a bitter grumble he leaves, but not without dramatically whispering “never ever” over his shoulder.

A star indeed.

The deck is quiet again for a moment. The sails are set and Jisoo gets to work, too, and finally - finally Jihoon comes to pull the anchor out of waters (“too long naps are my life-style, man”). The Sun starts rising even higher with the rest of the crew, and the full moon is slowly covered by light and clouds. In a month it will back with a gentle voice and a grin so lively that Jisoo’s heart breaks over and over again thinking how that one person is so close yet so far away.

 

***

 

“Hannie…”  
A clank. And then, “Yeah?”  
Jisoo flinches. He forgot he’s in the kitchen. And what’s even worse is the fact that he’s not alone this time.  
“Did you say something?” Hansol is next to him, youthful features drawn into a frown.  
“No, I think? What did you think I said then?” Jisoo’s laughter is nervous even to his own ears. Fuck.

Hansol cocks his head. His hands are absent-mindedly scrubbing away some plate’s imaginary spot that Mingyu expects them to see even though there’s clearly nothing. Fucking dishes. He hates them. And Mingyu. “Something… You called me Hannie. Is that a new nickname, hm?”

Jisoo attempts something like a grin. It fails. Horribly, even, at least that’s what he believes when he sees Hansol’s bored eyes sharpen.  
“What is it?”  
“I- I, uh- “  
“No”, Hansol mumbles, “it’s okay. It’s me who should apologise.”  
Jisoo feels his eyes fogging. “Sorry. Sorry, I just- I was just thinking and… I’m sorry.”  
“Nah. Don’t be. It’s okay to sometimes just think about everything. About past or- or something like that. Just make sure that it doesn’t get a hold of you, yeah?” Jisoo turns his head. Hansol smiles at him, dark eyes twinkling, and Jisoo cannot help but laugh, few tears slipping down his cheeks.

The crew doesn’t ask questions anymore, not that they did much to begin with - after all, all of them have their pasts, most of them too dark to be discussed about in daylight. Jisoo’s own is not the worst nor the best. 

“Yah, you’re too good.”  
Hansol cackles. “For you? So I’ve been told.”  
Jisoo splashes water on him. It’s nice.

And Hansol really is good. He’s sarcastic and funny, someone who shines like a star and was the first one to properly welcome him aboard. Hansol is the one who made Seungcheol agree on him staying.

The captain isn’t a bad guy more than a good guy, Jisoo is sure of that. Choi Seungcheol is a walking mystery. When the Sun’s up he’s a funny, dorky bun of happiness that likes giggling and randomly hugging his crew but when the night falls, he’s a wolf hiding from its pray, sharp claws ready to tear the poor animal apart and cold eyes twinkling in bloodthirsty glory. In a way Jisoo likes him.

But there’s another thing that makes him wary of his captain, and he doesn’t like it one bit.

“Hansol-ah.”  
The boy next to him hums. “Yeah?”  
“What do you think about Seungcheol?”  
Hansol jumps a little at the question. It’s unexpected, Jisoo knows. “W-well, you probably know I’m pretty close with him, so I don’t know what you want me to say.”  
“Relax, kid.” Jisoo sighs.

Hansol’s been on the ship the longest. Jisoo doesn’t know the whole story but from what the other members have told, he’s basically grown side by side with Seungcheol, the other picking him up from the streets.  
“I’m not about to tell you to side with me and betray him or anything, I just want to know more about him. As a person, or if you prefer, as a captain.”

Hansol sighs. “It’s okay, I was just surprised.

He’s quiet for a moment. Jisoo thinks he’s not going say anything but after a moment the silence breaks.

“Hyung is a good person. Likes sea more than anything, is dedicated to his job and to his family and would do anything for the ones he cares about. He has so many many soft points that I can’t even count - puppies, babies, pretty shells - you name it. And…” Hansol’s voice is nostalgic, happy but distant. “And I think you already that, but he practically raised me. Picked up from the streets and fed me, all that kind of shit. It’s not like he’s always been the same though - no, I think it was the times we were on the ship in our childhood. Personally, it was the happiest time of my life but to hyung… He hated it, you know.”

Jisoo doesn’t, but Hansol still laughs dryly. “His father and grandfather were always fighting. Never in front of us, no, but at nights it was really hard to sleep. God, their constant arguing went so overboard that sometimes even I woke up just to see him wide awake, eyes staring at the roof while there was a goddamn war going on outside.”  
“That’s not a good place for a child to grow”, Jisoo mumbles and even though Hansol doesn’t make a comment, he agrees.  
“It’s really not.”  
“But what did they fight so much about? I mean, it must not have been something so light.”

Hansol chuckles. “What’s with you today, hyung? First bursting out crying and then pressuring your beloved dongsaeng.”  
Oh. “Sorry!” Panic fills Jisoo’s mind. “I-I really didn’t mean to intrude at all, I swear!”

Hansol laughs genuinely this time. “You’re too easy to tease, hyung. There’s nothing bad about asking a few simple questions. But shouldn’t the answer why they fought be quite clear? I mean, what are the goals Cheol hyung really wants to achieve you know about?”  
“Um, women? Or money?”  
A sigh. “Please.”  
Another exaggerated sigh. “The pearls, then?”  
“Indeed”, Hansol says. “Grandpa Choi always wanted to find them but hyung’s father thought it wasn’t possible in the first place. He was sure that if there were merpeople in this world, at some point they would show themselves to us. Which, in my opinion, is quite dumb - people just want to have the riches coming from them.”

“What about you?”

Hansol looks startled before answering. The pile of cleaned plates is steadily growing, Mingyu’s nagging coming from alarmingly close. “I- I think it’s not cool? I mean, the pearls belong to the merpeople - they’re are theirs, you know. But”, he shrugs, “I'll go anywhere hyung wants me to go. Even though he’s a fool, he’s a fool I owe my life to."  
"And", he adds, “It’s not like merpeople exist anyways.”  
“I- “, and then Hansol’s looking at him and Jisoo forces himself to smile. “Yeah.”

 

Jisoo touches his necklace. A pearl somewhere under his shirt beats steadily against his skin.

400 miles away, one heart does the same.

**Author's Note:**

> so that was the first chapter! kudos, comments and constructive criticism are definitely appreciated and if you ever notice a mistake don't hesitate to tell me since i'm not a native speaker,, who happens to not have a beta reader,,,
> 
> i'm really excited about this so wait for the next chapter in about two weeks! ♡


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